Plans to introduce more seagrass to the beach at Tyninghame may be put on hold until next year after approval from NatureScot was delayed.

The Scottish Seabird Centre and Marine Conservation Society gave a talk at Tyninghame Village Hall earlier this month discussing the plans.

Both seagrass and oysters help improve water quality, store carbon which benefits the environment, support biodiversity and provide nursery habitats for fish.

The plan is part of a £2.4 million project, Restoration Forth, which aims to improve the local marine ecosystem and help tackle climate change.

The plan to introduce seagrass is subject to approval from NatureScot, which must establish whether the seagrass seeds, which were gathered in Orkney, would bring invasive species into mainland Scotland.

Further surveys must be carried out to determine whether any potential invasive species in the seeds are already present in mainland Scotland before the proposal to plant them is granted.

The proposal will then have to be approved by SEPA, Marine Scotland and local landowners.

Dr Marie Seraphim, seagrass officer at the Scottish Seabird Centre, said: “We are disappointed at the delay but hopefully it is approved soon. The window for planting seeds is best around October and November so, if it’s not approved by then, we may have to wait until spring to plant them."

Marie hoped the event at Tyninghame had encouraged residents to get involved.

She said: “The event was a great success, and it was lovely to meet the locals and tell them a bit about seagrass and the Restoration Forth project.

“There is seagrass which can be found in [the water off] Tyninghame, so that’s an area we are focusing on trying to restore more.

“It would be great if local people come out and help us plant the seeds for the seagrass once we get approval.

“We’re hoping it gets approved soon and we can get started.”

The Seabird Centre is one of many environmental organisations involved in the Restoration Forth project, which is in its first of a three-year funding by WWF.

Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Heriot-Watt University, Project Seagrass and Edinburgh Shoreline are also involved in the project.

The £2.4 million project was announced during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last year.

Marie said that, while the project was ambitious, with the support of residents she was confident it could reach its goals.

She added: “The project aims to have planted four hectares of seagrass by 2025, which is a lot, but we are working hard to get it done.

“They also plan to introduce 30,000 oysters, which were recently extinct in the Firth of the Forth, to the area by 2024.

“We need local people to support us.

“It is a three-year funding by WWF, which is great.

“But we hope that once that funding has ended, the project will become community led.”